Intel Finally Unveils Thunderbolt 2, Promises Better Performance

Last updated Jun 6, 2013

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We have been hearing about a new I/O controller code from Intel, essentially a second iteration of Thunderbolt. The company had initially termed the controller ‘Falcon Ridge’ but has come up with a more dramatic, and official, name for it – namely, Thunderbolt 2.

Thunderbolt first gained some traction in the tech arena when Apple decided to implement it on MacBook Pro laptops back in 2011. The move by Apple lead to a widespread discussion about Thunderbolt as well as its general acceptance by the tech world.

Soon after the implementation in MacBook Pro machines, Thunderbolt had also found its way on to another 30 PCs and motherboards during 2012. This was a significant progress and before soon, Thunderbolt was a part of a number of latest PC and laptop-tablet hybrid models.

Such speedy adoption hints that Thunderbolt is not only popular, it may be here to stay for a long while. With such popularity of Thunderbolt, it is no wonder that Intel is expending significant energies in releasing the second iteration of this technology.

The company claims that Thunderbolt 2 will be able to deliver 4K video and display, both at the same time. In other words, we may witness even greater data transfer speeds with Thunderbolt 2.

According to the marketing director of Thunderbolt at Intel, Jason Ziller, “By combining 20Gbs bandwidth with DisplayPort 1.2 support, Thunderbolt 2 creates an entirely new way of thinking about 4K workflows, specifically the ability to support raw 4K video transfer and data delivery concurrently. And our labs aren’t stopping there, as demand for video and rich data transfer just continues to rise exponentially.”